“You have no idea who you’re f**king with.”

“Neither do you.”

He narrowed his eyes. “You’re either very brave or very stupid.”

“I’m bored.”

“You’re crazy,” he decided.

Nick smiled. “How can you tell?”

“Listen, I follow orders. That means I’ll take you to him conscious or unconscious. Do the smart thing and make the right choice.”

No one was taking him anywhere. In a sharp yet fluid movement, Nick delivered a hard punch to the wolf’s temple, knocking him out cold. Before any of the others could react, he yanked the hand dryer from the wall behind him and bashed it over the head of the wolf on his left, sending him dizzily crashing to the tiled floor with a hard thud. Just as Nick turned, one of the others charged at him. But Nick was faster. He used the hand dryer to shove him backward and simultaneously knock the wolf behind him off-balance. Nick then dealt his opponent a solid kick to the ribs, pretty sure at least one of them cracked. As the wolf keeled over slightly, Nick grabbed him by his hair and bashed his head on one of the urinals. The male went instantly limp and slumped to the floor.

Nick cursed in surprise when water suddenly sprayed at his face; the remaining wolf had turned on the faucet and curled his hand in the flow of water to make it spray at Nick. Taking advantage of Nick’s distorted vision, the wolf aimed a mean kick at his face. Nick managed to dodge the move, but the kick still caught him on his shoulder. Totally pissed, Nick grabbed the next leg that came at him and twisted sharply, breaking the bone. The wolf screeched through his teeth and fell flat on his ass, satisfying Nick’s enraged wolf.

Nick glanced around, taking in the scene in front of him. The wolf with the broken leg was getting paler by the second. Both the bald wolf and the one who had a close encounter with the urinal were still unconscious. And the male who had suffered a blow from the hand dryer was on the floor, moaning and cradling his head. He looked at Nick, who then arched a brow at him, daring him to get up. He didn’t.

Nick sighed. “And that, children, is why you shouldn’t pick a fight with an alpha—whether he’s outnumbered or not. Your own Alpha should have taught you that. Consider this a lesson learned that your own Alpha should have taught you.”

Strolling out of the restroom, Nick cast a quick glance at the three wolf shifters at the rear of the diner. They looked back at him, but there was no challenge in their gazes. Satisfied, he continued to his table.

Spotting him, Derren rose from his seat. “Did you let them live?”

Nick placed the money for his food on the table. “If I hadn’t, then they couldn’t explain to their Alpha that I’m not an easy target, could they? I don’t need this shit right now.”

“Not that I disapprove of you teaching the wolves a lesson,” said Derren as they exited the diner, “but if you want to win your mate over, it makes sense to stay alive rather than go around pissing off drug lords.”

“I don’t know—I think she might prefer me dead.”

CHAPTER FOUR

You seemed a little distracted today,” Kent told Shaya as they were slipping on their coats at the end of a long shift. “And you look real tired.”

She gave him a sardonic smile. “Such a polite way of telling me I look like shit.”

“Come on, tell me what’s wrong. You’re supposed to confide in me and make me feel important and special.” When she didn’t, he hit her in the chest with her own purse. “Spill.”

Hanging the purse over her shoulder, she frowned at him. “Hey, I don’t harass you about your private business. If I was going to do that, I’d say shame on you for flirting outrageously with another one of your clients.”

“I wasn’t flirting. I was being particularly nice to a particularly hot guy.”

“Uh-huh. Just try not to sleep with this one, okay?”

His mouth fell open. He followed behind her, spluttering, as she headed for the door. “I did not have sex with Mark.”

“No, of course not.…He had sex with you.”

“As a matter of fact, Mark’s not actually my client, he’s Paisley’s client. I was just filling in that day.”

“So it was you who did the filling and he who took—?” Stepping outside, her smile froze, as did her whole body, as she noticed the familiar figure leaning against a vehicle, waiting. Nick. Her stomach did about three flips, and her wolf instantly sat up, satisfied.

A part of Shaya had wondered if he’d keep to his word and come to give her a ride home, but that idea had been ruthlessly squashed by the distrustful part of her that had been born when Mason betrayed her; that part of her couldn’t bring herself to invest any hope in Nick. She wasn’t sure whether she was pleased or disappointed that he’d come, just like she hadn’t been sure earlier whether she was happy or annoyed when she had received a text message from him:

I had the urge to text somebody who’s smart, hot, and sweet…but sending messages to myself is just pathetic, so hi.

She had promised herself she would not laugh, but she hadn’t been able to hold back a smile. She really didn’t know what to do with this guy, but she knew one thing: she sure as hell wasn’t giving him any encouragement by getting in that car with him…even though her feet were throbbing and it was cold and she was exhausted and she knew from earlier that his car was so warm and comfortable.

Kent, being nosy, strained to see over her shoulder. “Could he be the source of your distractedness, I wonder.” She could hear the smile in his voice.

Moving aside, she allowed Kent to pass so he could shut the door and lock it behind them. Meanwhile, Nick was strolling slowly toward her with a predatory glint in his eyes. Although Kent was standing right there, Nick looked only at her. Having his intense focus on her was both daunting and thrilling. Her wolf loved it—the dangerous vibes he emitted didn’t faze her wolf at all, because she was confident her mate would never harm her.

Shaya wished that the possessiveness in that gaze could have annoyed her, but it instead comforted her…eased something inside her. Insecurities that she wished she didn’t have. His deep, rumbly, authoritative voice almost made her jump.

“Ready to go?”

“I’m praying someone spiked my coffee with some sort of hallucinogenic—the alternative that you’re truly here is much too depressing.”